Terror on fifteen floors
by Fuzzbug
Summary: Terrifing things occur when the brothers are called to a rescue at the Tranquilty Hotel, which isn't as 'tranquil' as it seems. CHAPTER 7 UP! Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Terror on fifteen levels

Chapter 1

_Way back when I was writing Stranded I mentioned that I wanted to do a Thunderbirds horror. So at long last I have decided to write the first chapter, which I hope you enjoy._

The hotel was more rundown and dilapidated than any building that the brothers had ever seen before. Most of the windows were either cracked or missing altogether. There were dew covered cobwebs seemingly suspended in midair above the main entrance, which consisted of a pine door that was almost hanging off its hinges.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Gordon asked, staring up in amazement at the hotel. "The area looks completely deserted."

"This is definitely it," his eldest brother replied. "I've checked the co-ordinates with John twice now."

"So, Scott, what's the plan? There's no one around here, so do we go in there or what?" Virgil gestured toward the gray stoned building.

Scott nodded, "yeah we're going in. Apparently someone in there needs rescuing and we have to find them."

Alan shivered, "this place gives me the creeps and I'm not surprised it closed down."

As they headed towards the entrance, the others couldn't help but agree.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Wow, look at this place!" Virgil exclaimed as they entered the hotel's large foyer.

The brothers were surprised to discover that the interior of the hotel was a lot better looking than the exterior. A golden chandelier hung suspended from the red painted ceiling, and the tiled floor looked almost as if it had been vigorously scrubbed.

In front of them a long staircase ran up to the rest of the floors and at either side were two elevators which amazingly looked as if they were still functioning.

"Well this is certainly different from what we saw on the outside," Scott commented, while gazing around the vicinity. "I guess it's true what they say: "looks can be deceiving.""

His brothers nodded In agreement. They had all expected the inside of the Tranquility Hotel to be a complete ruin, but what they were seeing now was quite unexpected, almost as if they had entered into another world- one where nothing was quite what it seemed.

"This place reminds of that horror film where that family stayed in a hotel for the winter, and the dad goes psycho." Alan had a look of concentration on his face as he tried to remember the film's title. "What was it called?"

"The Shining," Virgil supplied helpfully. "It was based on the book by Stephen King. But I don't think the same thing's going to happen here, for one thing Dad's back on the island."

"Yeah," Gordon agreed then gestured at his eldest brother. "The only Dad-like person around here is Scott, and he left his axe behind so I don't think we need to worry about becoming mince meat anytime soon."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Scott narrowed his eyes menacingly at his red haired brother, "you still owe me for that shirt you ruined."

Gordon was about to reply with a quick witted remark when a sudden, seemingly soulless voice, echoed throughout the foyer of the hotel.

"HEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP MEEEEEEEE! HEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLP MEEEEEEEEE!" The voice sounded as if it belonged to a child. It was coming from everywhere at once.

"What the heck was that!" Virgil cried, as his brother's jumped at the unexpected voice.

"Is anyone there?" Scott called out, hoping the voice would respond.

For a few minutes all was silent then the voice started again, this time sounding more desperate. "HEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP MEEEEEEEE! PLEEEEEEEAAAAAAAASE, HEEEEEELLLLLLP MEEEEEEE!" The voice belonged to a girl.

"Where are you?" Alan shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"DON'T LET THEM HURT ME, PLEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAASE!"

"It's no use" Scott decided. "We're going to have to find her ourselves."

"But how Scott?" Gordon asked. "We have no idea where she is and this place has fifteen floors."

Scott lifted his communicator to his lips. "Scott Tracy calling Thunderbird five, are you there John?"

"Right here, Scott," John answered. "What's going on?"

"John I need to locate anyone in the hotel," Scott commanded. "We keep hearing a child's voice."

"That's strange," John replied. "The person who called me was a man, but I'll see if I can pick anyone else up." He moved other to the satellite's locator program and pressed some buttons.

After a while John frowned, perplexed, and then walked back over to Thunderbird five's communications system.

"Scott, the locators aren't picking anyone up apart from you guys."

"That can't be right! Are you sure they're working?"

"Of course it's working! It picked up you guys didn't it? Whoever is calling out must be in a position where the locators can't pick the child up."

Scott shook his head. "The locators are meant to be capable of picking up a person behind solid steel. I think you should have Brain look into it while we search the place manually."

"FAB, Scott."

"Ok guys," Scott turned to his earth bound brothers. "We're going to go up to the top floor and work our way down from there."

They walked over to one of the elevators and pressed the call button. They watched the numbers above the doors decrease as the elevator traveled down to them.

It didn't take long before they were in the surprisingly roomy transportation, as it traveled upwards towards the top floor.

"What do you think is wrong the locator?" Alan asked, leaning against the mirrored elevator walls.

"It has to be broken," Scott answered. "I don't know what else it could be, and anyway it picked up us didn't it? Why wouldn't it pick up anyone else?"

"We'll just have to see" Virgil stated. He then changed the subject. "Can't this thing go any faster?"

Almost as if someone had heard him, the elevator suddenly gave a thunderous roar and rapidly increased in speed. The brothers were thrown violently against the walls like rag dolls and the lights began to flicker on and off.

"Jesus Christ!" Gordon cried out as he fell to the floor, and then into the wall. "Someone please stop this thing!"

All of a sudden the elevator came to juttering halt and the lights were distinguished, plunging them all into pitch darkness.

"Is everyone alright?" Scott asked, taking his torch and shining it around. He received a chorus of positive replies. "Ok, I'm going to see if I can get this door open." He made his way over to the elevator doors and began to pry it open.

It was hard work but at last the elevator doors were open. Scott looked out and was dismayed to see they had come to a stop just beneath the elevator's exit. He could also see the adjacent elevator just above and to the left of him.

"We're going to have to climb on top of the other elevator" he cried down, "it's closer to the exit. I'll go first and you lot follow."

Scott began to climb onto the other elevator, using the long black cables for support. Once on top he stood up and gazed around. The edge of the elevator's exit was just above him and it would be easy for them to climb out.

He was just about to call his brothers and tell them to come on up, when a dark shadow appeared above him, and Scott felt something warm and sticky drip onto his hand.

Glancing down at it, Scott's eyes widened in horror.

It was blood.

Looking up Scott made out a large figure looming above him. He squinted his eyes to try and make the shape out more. He managed it but what he saw made him fall back in horror.

The figure was a large man dressed in what looked like a chef's outfit, however it was covered in dried blood. What was even more startling was that fresh blood was running down his face and dripping towards the ground. In his hand he held a large silver carving knife.

"What the..?" Scott began, but never got a chance to finish his sentence. The bloodied chef raised the knife and then swung round, severing the cables holding Scott's elevator with one slice.

Scott let out a cry of surprise and terror as he and the elevator plummeted towards the ground below.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: (forgot to do this in the first chapter) I don't own the boys in blue. It's as simple as that. _

Scott's cries echoed through the elevator shaft as he fell towards the base of it. He had almost completely forgotten about the bloodied chef that he had just seen; his mind was dominated with the fact that he was probably about to die. Yes, that's right; they would hear his screams and then find his broken body at the bottom.

Suddenly Scott felt someone (or something) grab hold of his uniform, and he came to an unexpected stop, dangling in midair. His head was spinning and he hoped that whoever (or whatever) had hold of him would be able to keep their grasp.

"Scott, hold on!" He looked up and saw that it was Virgil who had saved him. He was stood on top of the other elevator; one hand grasping the cables, while the other held desperately on to his older brother.

"Virgil, help me!" Scott shouted desperately. He could already feel Virgil begin to slip out of his grasp.

"I am! Try and reach for the rim of the elevator, and I'll pull you up."

Reaching up, Scott tried to grip the edge of the elevator's roof. The first time his hand gripped it he slipped off again. But the second time he kept his hold, and attempted to pull himself up.

Virgil grimaced as heaved his older, slightly heavier brother, back on to the roof of the elevator. Both brothers fell to their knees, panting in relief for the near miss they had had.

"Scott what happened? I climbed onto the top to see how you were getting on, and then you screamed and started to fall." Virgil hugged his one and only big brother, glad that he was ok.

Scott shivered slightly, as the image of the mad chef (he had to be mad since he had tried to kill Scott) forced its way back into his mind. "I don't know Virg, I was checking to see how we could climb out, and suddenly this guy appeared. He was covered in blood, and before I could stop him he cut the cables. It was lucky you were there."

Virgil couldn't believe what he was hearing. His brother had almost been murdered! Well wait until he saw that man; he would cut his cables!

Scott must have been noticing the expression on his brother's face, because he put his hand on his shoulder and smiled shakily. "Forget about it, he's probably gone by now. I expect he thinks I'm dead, and sees no reason to stick around."

"But why did he do it?" Virgil asked, not understanding how anyone could allow someone to almost fall to their death.

"Virg, you didn't see the guy. He had this smile that sent chills up my spine, and his uniform was covered in blood. Believe me Virgil, the guy was mad. If we don't see him then I'll let the authorities know."

"I think you should ring Dad though," Virgil suggested. "He needs to know what happened."

Scott nodded in agreement, "you're right Virg." He raised his watch. "Scott Tracy to base."

Nothing. Not even static.

Scott stared at his watch and gave it a little shake to see if it was still functioning. "Scott Tracy to base. Can you hear me Father?"

Silence.

"Let me try," Virgil said and raised his own communicator. "Base from Virgil Tracy. Base from Virgil Tracy."

Zilch.

"That's funny," he frowned. "The communicators should still be working, maybe there's a bad signal or something."

Scott thought for a moment then called down to Gordon and Alan who were still in the elevator. "Are you're communicators working guys?"

"Scott!" Alan cried out, ignoring the question. "Are you ok? We heard you scream."

"Yeah what happened?" Gordon added. They both climbed onto the roof of the elevator.

"I'm ok; I just had a bit of a close call that's all." Scott reassured them. "Are you're communicators working guys?"

The two youngest brothers looked at each other and shrugged. "Yeah they're working fine. Why?" Gordon asked.

"Well ours aren't working," Scott replied. "Maybe Virg is right and there's a bad signal. Let's get out of this shaft and try them again."

"Good idea big bro," Alan said. "There's just one problem: how are we going to get out?"

**……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… **

"W-w-well John, I don't see what else could be w-w-wrong with it." Brain said as John finished checking the locator program. "We'll just have to w-w-wait until S-S-Scott and the others get b-b-back."

"Ok Brain, thanks for your help." John cut the communications and stood staring at location program, wondering what on earth could be wrong with the system. He had checked it through over a dozen times now and was certain that everything was in order.

So what was the problem?

**………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. **

The problem was trying to get out of the elevator. Scott's mode of exit had crashed to the bottom a few minutes before, though he was glad that he wasn't part of the wreckage.

'Come on Scott, think." He thought to himself, while noticing that his brothers were patiently waiting for him to come up with an idea on how to get them out. But the last thing he wanted was to fall again.

"Ok, here's what we're going to do: we'll use the cables as support and climb out that way. I'll go first to make sure it's safe, Virgil you follow, and you two come up after."

His younger brothers watched as Scott shimmied slowly up the, occasionally slipping now and again. He eventually managed it and then leaned over to help his brothers up.

Virgil was the next up, followed by Alan then Gordon.

Once they were al out of the shaft they took a look around. A narrow corridor ran the entire length of the floor, with at least twenty rooms on each side. The doors were made of oak and had brass handles.

"Well at least we made it to the top floor," Alan pointed out, indicating the first room on his left: 1500.

"Ok, we'll search up here and then make our way down, understood?" Scott commanded.

His instructions received a chorus of "yes sir", and they began to walk down the corridor.

They hadn't gotten very far when eerie laugh echoed from behind them. It made the hairs on their necks stand on end.

"Well, well, well, look who's here. Finally got our message then?" An almost breathless voice came from behind them. Whoever was speaking sounded as if they were being strangled.

As one the brothers turned around, and let audible gasps at what they saw.

Standing no more than two meters in front of them was a man dressed in a gray suit. That wasn't so bad….apart from that it was in tatters, and covered in dirt.

His skin had a blue tinge to it, almost as if he was suffocating. The worst part was thick hangman's noose tied tightly around his neck, the end of it trailing along behind him.

The figure opened his mouth, baring his yellow teeth in a cruel leer. "Welcome to the Tranquility Hotel. We're _sooo_ glad that you could join us!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_AN: Sorry this took a while to upload, but I went to Poland for a few days._

_I altered my title slightly because I thought it sounded better._

The four brothers stared in horror at the hideous-looking man in front of them.

"Welcome to the Tranquility Hotel," he snarled. "My name is Charles Skullington; I was the original owner of this hotel when it first opened back in 1950."

Gordon was the first to find his voice- or some of it at least. "B-b-but that would m-m-make you…"

"One hundred and fifty two to be exact," Charles interrupted him. "But of course I still look as young as I did back then. After all, you can't age….when you're dead."

As always, Scott was the more skeptical one. "Sorry pal, I don't believe in ghosts. Now look, we believe that someone in this hotel is in need of our help, and we have to find them."

"The only people who are going to need help around here are you. If you want to get out of this hotel alive, you're going to have to listen to me," Skullington said, his eyes blazing in glee.

"Are you threatening us?" Scott narrowed his eyes, "because I'm afraid I don't take kindly to threats, and neither do my pals."

"Oh, I wasn't threatening you," Skullington snarled, "I was promising you. However, if you want proof…."

His eyes began to glow a blazing red, and Gordon gave a startled cry as he began to float into the air. He began to flail his arms and legs about in a desperate attempt to get back to solid ground.

"Let's see how well you can fly, shall we?" Skullington thrust his hand out, and Gordon felt himself flying backwards down the hallway. He gave a startled cry as he hit the far wall and slid to the ground.

"Gordon!" Virgil started to run over to see if his younger brother was ok, but he only got a few feet when he felt himself being flipped into the air.

Scott and Alan's eyes widened as they watched their brother dangling upside down, at least two meters from the floor.

"Now do you believe me?" Skullington asked, "or do I have to drop him on his head?"

Alan growled and leapt at Skullington, hoping the attack would release his hold on Virgil.

Instead of trying to evade the attack, Skullington merely laughed as Alan's form sailed right through him. The youngest Tracy brother landed on the floor with a hard thud.

Alan turned around, his eyes widening. "You really are a ghost," he whispered in awe.

"At last, someone gets it!" Skullington turned to the others, after releasing Virgil who dropped to the ground, but managed to protect himself with his hands.

"Ok, we believe you." Scott moved to help Virgil up. "What do you want with us?"

"A game," Skullington replied simply. "I want to see if you are as intelligent and resourceful as everyone says you are."

Scott shook his head. "We don't have time for games," he growled.

Virgil, Gordon – who had recovered from his flying trip-, and Alan had all simultaneously stepped backwards, putting their eldest brother between the ghost and themselves.

"Please Scott," Alan begged, "just listen to him. We want to get out of here."

Scott sighed before turning back to the phantom. "Fine, what do we have to do?"

"The rules are simple," Skullington replied. "The only way down to the next floor of the hotel, is through that door." He pointed to the other end of the corridor, where a black door had seemed to appear out of nowhere. "The door is locked at the moment, and the key is hidden in one of these rooms. All you have to do is find it."

"That sounds easy enough," Virgil said.

"Oh, it won't be as easy as it sounds." Skullington's laughter echoed round the corridor, and he vanished.

"Hey!" Scott shouted, "Come back!"

"It's no use Scott," Virgil said. "He's gone, and we're trapped here unless we find the key to that door."

"You're right, Virg," Scott replied, before turning to the others. "We'll have to split up and search for this stupid key; we'll be able to locate it quicker then. The Key has to be in one of these rooms. Alan, you and Gordon start at that end," he pointed down the corridor, "Virg and I will start the other end, understand?"

His brothers all nodded nervously, and began to walk to either end of the corridor.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Here key," Alan whispered quietly, as he searched room 1500. He was crawling on his hands and knees, searching for the much-needed key.

Approaching the king-size bed, he cautiously peered under it.

There was nothing there except mothballs.

'I hope the others are having better luck than I am,' he thought miserably to himself. 'Honestly, can anything else happen today?'

Something grabbed his ankle.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

In the room opposite Alan's, Gordon was opening the wardrobe, hoping the key would be in there somewhere, when all at once he heard a cry of terror.

Years of Halloween jokes had taught him that that cry belonged to Alan. He abandoned the search and raced into the corridor.

"Alan! What's wrong?" Gordon pounded on the door, hoping his brother was ok. Reaching down, he twisted the brass handle and the door swung open. He stepped quickly inside, and his eyes darted around the room to locate Alan.

"Gordo, help me!" Gordon's eyes widened as he finally saw his younger brother. Alan's body was half under the bed, but what made it even worse was that wrinkled, gnarled hands, were grabbing at his uniform and pulling him even further under.

"Gordon!"

Snapped out of his trance, Gordon raced over to try and free his brother from the 'monster under the bed'. He grabbed Alan under his arms, and began to try and tug him free.

"Hurry, Gordon!" Alan had tears of fright in his eyes.

"I'm trying," Gordon replied, pulling even harder. "Don't worry, it'll be ok."

Virgil appeared in the doorway. "Guys? What's wrong?"

"Virgil, help!" Alan and Gordon found themselves both crying out simultaneously.

By now Virgil had spotted the rotten looking hands, dragging his youngest brother under the bed.

"What the hell is that?" he cried.

"I don't know!" Gordon shouted back, "just help us!"

Virgil quickly made his way over to the bed, and began stomping his boots on the creature's hands. At first it didn't seem to be doing any good, but then they heard the cracking of bones, and the creature – whatever it was – let out a cry of pain and with drew its arms.

Seeing his chance, Gordon pulled his younger brother out from under the bed and into his arms.

Alan was trembling all over, tears were running down his cheeks and onto the floor. Gordon wrapped his arms around him, and tried to soothe his brother. "It's ok, Al. The creatures gone now."

Alan was still shaking, but he was beginning to calm down. "What that thing?"

"I don't know," Virgil answered honestly, "but what I do know is that Skullington was right: getting out of this place won't be easy. Hopefully nothing else will happen, and we'll get out of here without any trouble"

Oh, how wrong Virgil was.

A sudden, strangled cry, made the three brothers jump to almost a foot in the air. The cry wasn't one of terror, but of pain.

Virgil looked at Gordon, Gordon looked at Alan, and Alan looked at Virgil. All three of them were thinking the same thing.

"Scott!"

All three of them ran out the room, and up to the other end of the corridor. The door to room 1550 stood open, and another cry came from the door leading into the bathroom.

Virgil tried turning the bathroom's door handle, but it wouldn't budge. He then attempted to barge the door down, but he only succeeded in bruising his shoulder.

"What's going on in there?" Much of Alan's fear from earlier was beginning to return.

"Scott, open up!" Gordon pounded his fists on the door, but received only another strangled cry.

From inside the bathroom came the sound of glass breaking, followed by an evil laugh.

"That's it!" Virgil shouted, "stand back guys!" He raised his leg and kicked hard at the door again and again.

There was a snap as the old door fell off its hinges and crashed to the floor.

Virgil, Gordon, and Alan ran into the bathroom, hoping against hope that their older brother was ok.

They couldn't believe it.

The bathroom was empty.

There was no sign of glass on the floor, no sign of a struggle.

And worst of all there was no sign of Scott.

However three words written on the bathroom mirror in what the brothers hoped wasn't blood told them instantly that something was terribly wrong.

_WE HAVE HIM._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Scott Tracy sat up, clutching his head. He blinked and looked around trying to remember what had happened to him. The last thing he remembered was being in the bathroom of room 1550. He had gone in there to look for that key……

_Flashback_

_The bathroom of room 1550 was a large room, decorated with white tiles and stencils of sea horses. The sink was directly opposite the entrance, and above it was a large rectangular mirror about a meter and a half across. Scott's reflection was the first thing he saw when walking in the door._

_Looking around, it was clear to see that the bathroom was empty. There were no cupboards to hide in, and the shower screen was completely transparent; there were no chances of any monsters leaping out of there._

_Scott was about to leave and check out the other rooms, when something made him freeze in his tracks. It was the uncanny feeling that he was being watched. He turned around again, expecting to see someone – or something – directly behind him, but there was nothing there except…._

_His reflection. _

_Frowning, Scott walked towards the bathroom mirror and peered at his reflection. He turned his head to the side and studied his latest 'rescue' scar, which he had claimed thanks to a piece of glass on their previous assignment. The scar was about half the size of his index finger, and the fact that it was on his face made it all the visible._

_It wasn't surprising that his brothers had nicknamed him 'Scarface' after the famous film gangster._

_He shook his head, deciding it was better not to worry about it. After all, scars were permanent so it was no use moaning about something that he couldn't change._

_He sighed, and made to turn around and walk out the door._

_His reflection winked at him._

_Startled, Scott leapt backwards. He watched as his reflection stared at him intently, and then his lips curled into a cruel leer. The strange thing was Scott was certainly **not **smiling._

_Summoning up his courage, Scott moved closer to the mirror. He reached out his hand to touch the glass, wanting to believe that he had just imagined it all._

_Suddenly his reflection's hands shot out of the mirror, like a person putting their hand's through a window way. They clasped tightly around Scott's throat and began to drag him towards the mirror._

"_Hello, Scotty," the reflection snarled. "I'm taking you on a trip to my world!"_

_Scott struggled for air and tried to wrench the choking hands off of him. It was impossible though; the grip was too strong._

"_G-g-get off!" Scott gasped. "C-c-can't breath!"_

"_Aww, what's the matter Scotty? Feeling a little choked up!" His reflection threw back its head and let out a chilling laugh. He tightened his grip and continued to drag Scott towards the mirror- **into** the mirror._

_The last thing Scott remembered before his world went black was the echo of his reflection's laugh, and the shattering of glass as a soap dish was knocked off the sink corner._

_End flashback_

"Are you ok?" A timid voice said from behind him.

Scott twisted his head around to see a young girl about ten years old, wearing a blue dress and knee length socks. Her fashion was something that Scott had certainly never seen in his lifetime.

"Who are you?" Scott asked, as the girl reached and towards him to help him up.

"My name's Charlotte," the girl replied, "but you can call me Charlie. My parents call me that…..at least they use to."

Looking around, Scott realized that he was back in the hotel's reception. But yet everything seemed different; the bright colors were gone, replaced with dull grays and whites, and the chandelier was smashed on the floor.

"Where are we, Charlie?" Scott asked. He had to admit that this place gave him the creeps. It reminded him of the twilight zone, or some warped version of 'Alice through the looking glass.'

"We're in the Opposite world," Charlie replied, gesturing at the place around them. "Have you ever looked in a mirror and wondered what was on the other side?"

Scott couldn't say that he had.

"Well this is it," Charlie continued. "In this world things are opposite to yours. Good is evil, evil is good, light is now darkness, and darkness is now light."

Scott blinked, trying to get his head around what she was trying to explain. "How did you get here Charlie?"

Small tears began to form in her eyes. "My mom and dad came to stay here when the hotel first opened. I was staying in room 1550, the room you were in. I remember going into the bathroom and seeing my reflection, and suddenly it reached out and grabbed me. I tried to scream for help, but it was too late…..It was too late."

She broke down, and Scott put his arms around her. "It's ok Charlie; we'll get out of here."

"Do you promise?" Charlie asked.

"I promise," Scott replied, hoping that he sounded surer than he felt.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Scott, where are you?" Virgil cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted the question, which of course went unanswered.

"Bro. can you hear me?" Gordon cried, to no advantage.

Alan meanwhile, was studying the writing on the wall. He reached a hand to touch the blood on the mirror, expecting it to transfer on to his hand. But when he turned to look at his palm there was nothing there.

He turned to his brothers, and gestured them over. "Hey, guys, look at this, I can't feel the blood."

"What do you mean, you can't feel the blood?" Virgil came to stand beside his brother, and stared into the mirror.

"Touch it," Alan said. "It doesn't come off."

Virgil did as he was told, and was surprised to find that Alan was right. "It's almost as if it's been written from inside the mirror."

"Oh, come on Virgil," Gordon scoffed. "That's impossible…..Isn't it?"

"I would have thought so too, Gordon," Alan admitted, "that is until I was almost dragged under a bed by a strange creature."

Gordon thought about this for a moment, and decided that maybe his brother was right. If a creature could come out from under the bed, like in all those horror stories you read about, then perhaps there could be such a thing as a haunted mirror. But what were the chances of that?

"So you think he's inside the mirror?" Gordon asked.

"He could be," Virgil replied. "I mean, with everything else that's happened, then I don't think it's impossible."

"Ok, so how do we get him out?" Alan asked the obvious question.

"You can't get him out," came a voice from behind them. "You're brother is trapped in there forever."

_AN. I would like to thank everyone who has been reviewing so far. Please keep 'em coming; there like a healthy, yet addictive drug._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Skullington!" The three brothers cried out, spinning to face the phantom that had appeared to them earlier.

"What do you mean Scott's trapped in there forever?" Virgil demanded. "There has to be a way to free him!"

"There isn't," Skullington replied, flashing his cruel smile. "You're brother has entered an opposite world; there is no way out, unless…."

"Unless what?" Gordon asked. He peered closely at the mirror, and then rapped his knuckles against it, hoping to be rewarded with a reply from his older brother, but didn't have any luck.

"Unless he discovers the opposite exit."

"What's the opposite exit?" Alan wanted to know. "Where can we find it?"

Skullington threw back his head and let out his chilling laugh. "You think I'm going to tell you that? You're more stupid than you look! But if I were you I'd focus more on getting out of here than freeing your brother."

"No way!" Virgil growled, "we're finding our brother, no matter how long it takes!"

"Then you're going to be here for a very long time," Skullington chuckled, before vanishing into thin air.

Alan turned to his older brothers. "What are we going to do? We have to get Scott out of there!"

Virgil sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "As much as I hate to admit it, Skullington's right; we can't hope to help Scott unless we help ourselves first."

"So, we're just going to abandon him?" Alan demanded. "We can't do that! You don't know what's going on in there; he could be hurt or dead for all we know!"

Both Virgil and Gordon startled at Alan's statement. Neither of them would ever admit there worst fear like that.

"Don't say that, Alan!" Gordon spun away from where he had been looking at his reflection. "Scott's alive, I know he is! And so do you!"

Alan hung his head. "I want to believe that he's still alive Gordon, I truly do, but what evidence have we got?"

Virgil put his hands on his brother's shoulders and commanded Alan to look at him. When he was satisfied that he had the blonde's full attention, he said: "Listen to me Alan. Scott is alive. He wouldn't let us down like that, you know he wouldn't. But if we don't get to the ground floor of this hotel, then we have no hope of helping him. I need you to focus and stay optimistic if we're ever going to find that key. Do you understand?"

Alan nodded, "I understand Virgil." He looked his older brother in the eye and forced a small smile. "Let's go find that key!"

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

**Opposite world**

Charlie followed closely behind Scott, as he entered the hotel's dining room. The eatery was a large room with hundreds of round tables, each one able to accommodate between two and ten people. At the far side of the room was the entrance to the kitchen. A long counter ran across just opposite the door, with trays of food ranging from mashed potatoes to white rice being heated under a lamp.

The walls of the room were painted a dreary gray, and the four lights suspended from the ceiling were covered in cobwebs and beginning to lose their glow.

Scott glanced around, checking to make sure that no one was hiding in the corners, ready to sneak up on them. As far as he could see there wasn't a soul in site.

"Don't worry," Charlie reassured him, "there's no one around. Remember, things are opposite. It's daylight outside, which means that everyone is asleep; we're perfectly safe."

"You're sure about that?" Scott asked.

Charlie nodded, "I know we are. I've been here for a long time, and nothing's ever happened to me……Well except that lady."

"Lady? What Lady?" Scott asked, as he continued walking towards the door to the kitchen.

"A lady that keeps chasing after me at night. She scratched me once, here." She pointed to her arm, where a small scar was barely visible. "She's a nasty woman; we should watch out for her."

"Ok," Scott had reached the kitchen doors. He pushed them open, and he and Charlie stepped into a dimly lit room. The kitchen was large- not surprising considering the amount of people the chefs had to cook for. Dozens of knives and kitchen utensils were lying around on the work top. Charlie picked a small knife up and pocketed it.

"Protection," she said to Scott when he raised an eyebrow. "You might need something as well."

Scott merely smiled and indicated the laser pistol strapped to his boot. He hoped it would provide enough protection for both of them.

"Oh, no," he heard Charlie suddenly whisper.

"What is it?" Scott asked, turning to face her.

Charlie pointed at a clock, where the hands showed that it was quarter to seven. "It gets dark at around seven. The people will be out soon."

"I thought you said that we were safe."

"I know I did," Charlie insisted. "But I didn't know what the time was though, and these people can come out at any time during the night, and they come out from anywhere."

Scott grabbed Charlie's hand and together they began to run towards the kitchen doors. "We'll head upstairs," Scott said. "We should be safer there."

The two of them reached the doors, and Scott pushed it open.

A large object stood, blocking their exit.

Charlie screamed.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Gordon and Alan were searching room 1510 for the key. Virgil had agreed that the two of them should search together, because Alan was still nervous after what had happened to him, and like his brothers, he was worried about Scott.

The red-head glanced at the large grandfather clock, standing in the corner. It was seven – o – clock, according to the hands.

'Odd shaped hand,' Gordon thought to himself as he noted the shape of the hour hand.

He peered closely at it, and then his eyes widened in surprise and relief. "Alan! I found the key!"

Sure enough the 'hand' of the clock was in fact a key. It was a golden old fashioned one, which was gradually rusting with age.

The brothers ran over to the clock, and Alan open the glass door to remove the key. However as soon he removed the key, the door to the room slammed shut.

"What the?" Gordon cried, running to the door and trying to open it. The door refused to budge, no matter how hard he pulled on it.

"What's wrong with it?" Alan asked, coming over to try the door for himself. "Why won't it open?"

"I don't know," Gordon replied.

Suddenly there was a loud creaking sound coming from the wall, and two of them watched as a pine chair was pushed forward across the floor.

On the other side of the room, the grandfather clock was also shoved forward. The corner of it hit a loose floorboard and the clock toppled, over crashing to the ground.

Gordon and Alan looked at each other, having realized what this meant.

The walls were closing in on them.

_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story. I hope you are enjoying it so far._

_DeathRealm: I admit that I don't really know how long this story will be, however we are now on the fifth chapter and they have only just found the first key! So I think we can safely say that it will be quite long._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The 'thing' blocking their exit was a burly man dressed in a chef's outfit. A large blood stain was splattered down the left hand side. His face was also streaked in the sticky, crimson liquid. The chef stuck out his tongue and licked at the blood around his lips, seemingly savoring the taste. His steely blue eyes stared at the two shocked figures in front of him.

"W-w what are we going to do?" Charlie stammered. Her face had turned a pale white, and Scott could feel her shaking against him.

With his left hand he gently but firmly pushed Charlie behind him. In his right hand he grasped his laser pistol, aiming it at the chef's chest. "Stay back!" he ordered." I don't want to use this thing on you, but I will!"

The chef opened his mouth and let out a sinister laugh. The sheer force of it felt like an earthquake. "You fool!" the figure growled. "You can't kill me; how can you kill someone who isn't alive?"

Scott's eyes widened at that last statement. "How can you be dead? That's impossible!"

"Nothing here is impossible….Scott." The chef sneered even more when Scott started at the revelation that the man knew his name. "Tell me Scott, did you think that it was impossible to be dragged into a mirror?"

Scott didn't answer. He was still trying to get over the fact that he was talking to a dead man. A dead man covered in blood to make things worse. Behind him Charlie was clinging desperately to his uniform, and sobbing quietly with fright.

"I take it by your silence that you did think it was impossible, hmm? Well sorry but everything's possible here, as you're about to find out!" He raised his right hand, and Scott spotted a gleam of silver as a carving knife seemed to materialize out of the chef's sleeve.

The chef raised the knife and began to slowly stalk towards Scott and Charlie. Scott spun around, grabbing Charlie's wrist as he did so and ran into the centre of the kitchen.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The walls were closing in on them fast. Furniture was being shoved across the floor, and objects such as vases and artwork were toppling off the shelves and the walls.

"What are we going to do?" Alan cried desperately to Gordon. "We're going to be crushed!"

Gordon ran over to the door and tried to twist the handle, but it wouldn't budge; it was as if there was someone on the other side holding the door shut. "Alan, help me!" He motioned for his younger brother to and help him.

Alan grabbed the door knob as well, and together the two brothers tried to open the door and free themselves. They weren't having much luck though; Gordon could see that Alan was on the verge of having a panic attack.

"Alan you have to calm down," Gordon demanded. "We won't have a chance of getting out of here if you don't."

"What makes you think we're going to get out of here anyway?" Alan shouted. He began pounding his fists on the door and crying out, "help! Let us out! Virgil!"

Gordon dragged him away from the door. Around them the walls were getting closer, and Gordon had leap out of the way of a chair as it was pushed across the floor.

Alan wrenched himself away from his brother. "Gordon, what are you doing? We have to get out of here!"

"I know that! But shouting and screaming isn't going to help us."

Alan hung his head, "I wish Scott were here. He'd know what to do."

"Well he isn't, ok?" Gordon replied, "So we have to figure out how to get out of here ourselves."

Gordon looked around the room, and his eyes suddenly fell upon the bathroom door which was slowly coming closer to him. A recent memory suddenly opened in his mind.

"Hey Al, remember that Virgil kicked the door down in room1550?"

"Yeah," Alan said. "So?"

"Well remember how easily the door came away from the hinges because it was so old?" He raised his leg and began to kick at the door, hoping to punctuate his idea.

Realizing what his brother meant, Alan began to kick the door as well. The brothers gave quite sighs of relief as the door slowly started to give way. However the wall coming towards them from the right was slowly beginning to block the door.

Alan stepped back from the door and ran to the other end of the room. "Get out the way Gordon! I'm going to try and ram the door."

"Alan, that won't work. Virgil tried to do it before and all he got was a bruised shoulder."

But Alan, being the stubborn young man that he was, refused to listen and ran shoulder first towards the door. However just as he was about to come into contact with it, it opened. Alan stumbled out into the corridor and hit the opposite wall.

"What the?" was all Gordon could say as he helped Alan off the floor. He looked round to see who could have opened the door, but there was no one around.

"What happened?" Alan asked. "Someone must have opened the door; it wouldn't just open by itself."

"I don't know what happened," Gordon replied, "but after all the stuff that's happened to us so far nothing really surprises me anymore."

"I want to go home," Alan admitted quietly. "I hate this place; it's like we're in some sick life or death game, and to make things worse Scott's disappeared."

"But you remember what Skullington said? Scott's alive; he's just trapped in an opposite world…..what ever that is."

"What if Skullington was lying?" Alan asked. "How do you really know he's alive?"

Gordon shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. But have this feeling that if he were dead we would know, deep inside. I also believe that you and especially Virgil feel it too, don't you?"

"I suppose so, but I just want to see him again."

Gordon grabbed Alan's wrist. "Come on, let's get out of here and find Virgil. I hate this place.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

They found Virgil up the corridor in room 1505, cautiously opening drawers.

"Virg, we found the key!" Gordon declared when they found him. "We can go down to the next floor!"

"That's great Gordo…..say, you two look a little pale, are you ok? Virgil asked concerned.

Gordon and Alan explained about what had happened in the room, and their strange escape.

"Are you guys ok now?"

"We're fine," Gordon reassured his older brother. "Let's just get down to the next floor, and find the other key."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Come out; come out, wherever you are." The chef stalked through the grounds of the kitchen, looking for Scott and Charlie. "I promise I won't hurt you….I just want to slice you like an onion!"

"Scott, I'm scared," Charlie whispered from their hiding place inside the large pantry. "What if he finds us?"

"Don't worry," Scott reassured Charlie. "You'll be safe with me."

Suddenly the door flew open and the chef stood there, grinning menacingly. His knife glinted in the light.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't find you? This is my kitchen; I know every nook and cranny!" the chef gloated. "Now then, which one of you wants to be the first to be sliced and diced?

Scott grabbed his laser pistol out of his boot, and began shooting vigorously at the chef's head. He shouted at Charlie to make a run for it.

The force of the firing drove the chef backwards, and Scott watched in horror as his skull began split apart. Blood and bits of what Scott hoped wasn't the guy's brain, slid out and dropped onto the tiled floor.

Finally the chef gave him a small wink before dropping to knees, and then falling flat on his face.

Scott took several inhales of breath, trying to calm his nerves. He turned to see Charlie standing in the door. Her face was pale as if she was going to be sick, and she was shaking like a leaf.

He walked over to her and took her hand. "Come on, let's get out of here."

They started walking out the door. But they got no more than a few feet when from behind them came what sounded like bones creaking. Scott and Charlie turned around, their eyes widening at what they came to face.

Charlie screamed, and Scott felt his lunch coming back up.

In the corner of pantry, the chef had climbed back onto his knees. The bone creaking sound was his skull, which seemed to bulge inside his head as it healed. His skin in his forehead writhed and seemed to grow, recovering the gaping holes in his cranium.

He got shakily to his feet and smiled at the two of them. "See, Scotty? I told you you couldn't kill me!"

Scott raised his pistol and began shooting again, this time aiming at any and every part of his body. Once again the chef fell flat on his face.

"What did you do that for?" Charlie cried, "you know it won't work!"

Scott grabbed her hand and ran out of the pantry. On the outside he instructed Charlie to help him close the metal door.

"That won't hold him for long," Scott told her. "We better get away before he finds away out."

They turned and ran out the dining room back into reception. The room was still dark and dingy; the complete opposite of the world he had come from.

"We have to keep going!" Charlie insisted, "before he gets out and…."

But whatever she was about to say was cut off by another voice. It sounded incredibly soft, yet raspy, as if the person hadn't spoken for a long time.

Scott, despite the danger he had just been in, was curious as to where the voice was coming from. He instructed Charlie to stick behind him as he walked towards the area he thought it was coming from.

His path lead to a wooden door, just off to the side of the reception desk. Scott figured that it must go into a back office of some sort. He cautiously opened the door and walked in.

He was right; the room was an office. In front of him was an oak desk, similar to his fathers. A leather chair was positioned behind it, and sitting in the leather chair was….

"Mom?" Scott couldn't believe it. That couldn't be his mom; she was….dead.

Yet there she was, right in front of him. She was smiling at him the way he remembered.

Scott watched as she slowly rose out of her seat and walked towards him.

"Hello Scotty," she greeted him. "I have something for you."

"What is it Mom?"

"This!"

Lucille's tender smile transformed into an inhumane snarl, the likes of which Scott had never seen before. He watched in shock as his mother raised her hand and backhanded him hard across the face.

_And there's chapter six. I deeply apologize for the delay, and thanks for the threat. I hope my cliffhanger this chapter is up to standard._


	7. Chapter 7

First of all I need to make a sincere apology to all those who have been waiting for me to update this story. I have no excuse for my extreme tardiness and I hope you can forgive me.

_Chapter Seven_

"_Woohoo!" Gordon cried out as he flew open the door to the next floor. "Just another fourteen more floors to go. Come on guys, lets go find…"_

_He suddenly stopped and gazed about him, fully taking in his surroundings for the first time. _

_He couldn't believe it._

_Whereas the previous floor had been a reflection of the 1950's era - around the time the hotel had been built -, this floor looked like the interior corridor of a medieval castle. A long tapestry stretched the length of the corridor, depicting the image of an ancient combat ( Gordon guessed that it was the battle of Hastings, though he couldn't be sure)._

_The walls of the corridor were made of stone and a cold draft was whistling through the gaps causing Gordon to shiver slightly, though this might have been from the creeps he was getting rather than the cold._

_Virgil and Alan appeared beside him. They too gazed in shocked silence at the corridor._

"_Ok, we have officially entered the Twilight Zone," Alan whispered. He turned to look at the tapestry and jumped back when he realised that the figures were actually __moving. _One of them suddenly drew his sword and decapitated the head of his enemy. Blood spurted out of the headless soldier and trickled down and out of the tapestry, trailing its way down the stone wall.

"You mean we weren't in it already?……Oh that is gross!" Virgil leapt back as the crimson blood began to pool around his feet. "I just cleaned these boots before I came here."

He was about to kneel down and wipe the blood off when he felt Gordon tap him on the shoulder.

Virgil turned to his brother. "What is it?"

But Gordon didn't answer, instead he continued to stare up at the other end of the corridor, a look of horror on his face. He raised his finger and pointed with a trembling hand.

Virgil followed his line of site and when he saw what Gordon had spotted a look of terror appeared on his face as well. Without taking his eyes off the sight he tapped Alan on the shoulder.

Alan, who had been continuing to stare at the tapestry, slowly turned and looked at what his older brothers were staring at. When he saw what it was a scream caught in his throat and he lifted his hand to tap Scott on the shoulder, before realising that he wasn't there and letting his hand flop back down to his side.

Lumbering up the corridor towards them, wearing a long black robe and a hooded mask obscuring his face, was an executioner. Gripped in his hands and dripping with blood was a large silver axe, which he lifted and swung above his head every couple of steps.

"Chip, chop, I'm going to slice your head off from on top!" The executioner's voice boomed down the corridor.

"What are we going to do?" Alan asked, anxiously tugging on Virgil's uniform. "There's no where to run to!"

Virgil looked around frantically before spotting an open entranceway into one of the rooms. He grabbed hold of his brothers and shoved them in to it, "quick get in there, now!"

When all three had made it into the room, Virgil slammed the door behind him and gazed around, trying to find something with which he could block the door with. He soon spotted an antique chest of drawers.

"Gordon, get over here and lean against this door!" Virgil demanded before turning to the younger sibling. "Alan, come and help me move these drawers, I want to use them to block the door."

Allowing Gordon to replace his position at the door, Virgil crossed the room and together he and Alan lifted the chest off the floor. Fortunately it wasn't as heavy as they thought and they managed to carry it across the room and position it by the door.

Suddenly the executioner's axe came crashing through the door. Virgil was lucky to miss impersonating one of his favourite artists, Vincent Van Goth, by an inch as he leapt to avoid the deadly blade.

"Virgil, are you ok?" Alan asked, concerned for his brother's close call.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Virgil reassured him before realising that he and his brothers were now trapped in this room.

"How are we going to get out?" Alan asked, seemingly reading his brother's mind.

In answer Virgil crossed the room and went out onto the balcony. A few seconds later he came back in. "Listen guys, the balcony next this one is relatively close. If we're lucky we can jump across and swing ourselves up, then maybe we can sneak past Choppy before he notices that we're gone."

"Are you sure that's going to work?" Gordon wanted to know.

Before Virgil could answer the axe came crashing through the door again.

Gordon walked onto the balcony. "Never mind, I'm willing to risk it."

Virgil had been right. The adjacent balcony was only a couple of feet away and Gordon felt sure that he could jump it and then use the bars and the hotel wall to climb up and over. He hoisted himself up onto the railings and stood swaying slightly, leaning a hand against the wall so as not to overbalance and plunge to his death.

"Be careful, Gordon," Alan warned, coming onto the balcony along with Virgil.

"But hurry up," Virgil added. " He's almost broken the door down."

Gordon took a deep breath, tried not to look down, and jumped. Time seemed to stand still as he flew across the gap and he could almost swear that the opposite balcony was getting further and further away, but eventually he felt his fingers connect with the opposite railings.

"Yes! He's made it," Alan celebrated. "Come on Gordon, climb up."

Moving side to side to get some momentum into his body, Gordon managed to swing himself up and place his feet on the balcony ledge before using his hands to climb up the railings and to the safety of solid ground.

"Ok Alan, it's your turn now," Gordon called across after getting his breath back.

Alan was a little more confident when it came to the leap, probably because he had already witnessed Gordon make it successfully. He climbed onto the balcony leapt easily across with Gordon pulling him up on the other side.

"Virgil, hurry up!" Alan shouted.

"I'm coming!"

Virgil was just about to climb onto the balcony and join his brothers when something grabbed him from behind.

………………………………**...................................................................................................**

Clutching his stinging face in one hand, Scott stared in amazed bewilderment at the figure who stood before him.

Lucille Tracy hadn't changed a bit since the day of her funeral. Her long brown locks that reached all the way down to her waste were tied up in a pony tail, and she was attired in the green silk dress and matching pearl necklace that she had been buried in. The emerald earrings (Lucy's birthstone) that the boys had bought for what would be her and their fathers final anniversary were still dangling from her ears.

No, she hadn't changed….save for one thing.

Her eyes.

The honey brown orbs that were usually alight with mischief and sparkling with love were now blazing with fury. She stared at her eldest son with a look that Scott could only feel was contempt.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the first of my brat pack; the beginning of my nightmare known as motherhood. Come to see your mommy have you?"

"You're not my mother," Scott whispered, taking a step back. Charlie had hidden behind his legs, staring up at the woman with scared, anxious eyes.

Scott lightly squeezed her shoulder to reassure her. "It's ok, Charlie. Everything's going to be ok, I promise."

Did he really believe that?

"You haven't changed have you Scott," Lucy commented. You're still the same selfless, caring, _interfering _little git I remember."

"What the hell are you talking about…'Lucy?'"

The woman ignored the fact that Scott had used her first name rather than 'Mom'. "Oh, come off it you little bastard! I got _sick_ of the fact that whenever one of your brothers got hurt or upset it was you they ran to, never me. You, you, you, always you! It drove me crazy! So crazy in fact that I actually planned to get rid of you…permanently. I was going to make it look like an accident; falling down the stairs, something like that. That way the boys would no longer be able to run to you, they would come to me, like they should have done in first place!"

Scott's face had slowly gone pale as he listened to those words. Had his mom really felt that way? It was true that his brothers had usually gone to him rather than their mother when they had a problem as kids, but Lucy had been pleased about that because it meant that the three of them trusted their big brother immensely. The fact remained true when Alan had been born, though his mother was no longer there to confirm it.

He vehemently shook his head. No, this woman wasn't his mother, no matter how alike they looked. His mother…his real mother…would never contemplate getting rid of one of her children, especially in such a cruel and barbaric way.

"You're not my mother!" Scott repeated even more venomously. "My real mother would never say such venomous things, she was a sweet, caring woman to all who knew her until the day she died."

'Lucy' threw back her head and let out a cold laugh that echoed chillingly around the room. It was a sound that Scott had never heard coming from his real mother and it made his spine tingle.

"You foolish twit," 'Lucy' snarled. "When are you going to get it into that thick head of yours that I _am _your mother. I'm everything your mother wanted to be, everything your mother _should_ have been but couldn't thanks to you and your brothers. Because of you I was forced to act the part of a caring mother, even though deep down I despised all five of you for wasting my life."

"Wait a minute, five? Why would you despise Alan? You…I mean my mother….was only with him for a couple of hours before she died, that isn't long enough for Alan to have 'wasted her life'.

"I still had to carry that little brat around for nine months!" 'Lucy' snarled. "And in causing my death he ruined the one thing I was good at, being a mother, even if I was just pretending. He also unintentionally destroyed my plans of maternal filicide."

Maternal filicide: The act of a mother killing her son or daughter.

"What possible reason do you have to think that my mother would want kill her own children?" Scott asked, his eyes narrowing in disbelief.

'Lucy' shook her head. "Not children, Scott, _child. _When I realised I was to be saddled with another of you brats, I knew it would be the same as it was with Virgil, John and Gordon. I would spend nine months having to carry him before going through the pain of childbirth, only to have him doing what all the others did before."

"And what's that?"

"As soon as he got old enough to walk he would ignore me in favour of you. Well I wasn't going to let that happen this time, not again," 'Lucy' replied. "I started to plan what I was going to do to get rid of you. The best thing I thought of was to drown you. I would come in while you were bathing and hold your head under the water until your lungs filled and you drowned. Yes, you would struggle, but I figured that you would be too shocked and scared to put up much of a fight. And when your father returned with your brothers he would discover me holding your lifeless body and sobbing hysterically about how you must have slipped and fallen."

Charlie, who had been listening in shocked silence this whole time, felt Scott's body tense beside her. She looked up to see that his face had gone even paler than before.

"Scott," she whispered. "Don't listen to her. Remember, she's not your mother."

"I…I know that," Scott reassured her, never taking his eyes of the woman that looked so much like his mother.

'Lucy' continued her description of the planned murder. "Your brothers would have all been devastated and your father would have been even worse. With everyone too hysterical with grief to provide any comfort for the boys, they would come to the one person who would be able to provide them any sort of comfort…me."

"I can't believe you would have the gall to stand there and say that," Scott snarled. "You're not a mother, you're not even human."

"IT'S YOUR FAULT!!" she shrilled so loudly that Charlie gave an audible whimper and backed up against the wall. "IF YOU HAD KEPT OUT OF THE GODDAMN WAY, I WOULDN'T HAVE PLANNED TO DO IT! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BE SO CARING SCOTT? WHY?"

She took a deep breath in order to calm down and her eyes fell on Charlie. Before anyone could respond she reached forward and grabbed the young child pulling her towards her chest, wrapping her hands around her neck and digging claw like fingers into her throat.

"Tell me, son, is it just your brothers that you were so _annoyingly _protective of or everyone?"

………………………………**.................................................................................................**

"Virgil!" Alan gave a terrified cry as he watched as his older brother was suddenly grabbed by the executioner.

Virgil struggled out of his attacker's grip and backed up into the corner of the balcony. The executioner gave a snarl of rage and swung his axe at the brunet pilot, who dived to avoid to deadly blade.

He barely made it and gave a cry of agony as the blade cut into his thigh. Virgil crashed to the floor and tried to scramble away as the executioner stalked towards him, at the same time trying to stem the blood flowing from the leg. He rolled to the left as the axe came down again and scrambled to his feet.

"Get out of there, Virgil!" Gordon cried. "He's going to kill you!"

'Way to state the obvious, Gordie,' Virgil thought. If he could, he would have turned to scowl at his younger brother. As such, he was too busy trying to avoid being sliced and diced.

When the executioner moved towards him again, Virgil took his chance and swung his fist in a fast right hook. Surprisingly, his fist didn't sail through, instead it caught him squarely on the jaw, causing the villain to stagger backwards and drop his axe.

Virgil used this pause in the attack to get his breath back and to prepare himself for the next onslaught that he knew was coming.

"Virgil move it!" Alan cried, "Now's your chance."

But before Virgil could move the executioner lunged at him. However, Virgil had anticipated this and dived to one side. The three brothers watched as the executioner toppled over the balcony railings and plunged towards the ground below.

Virgil, Alan, and Gordon each breath sighs of relief at the lucky escape.

"Are you ok?" Alan asked. "He got you with the axe didn't he?"

"Yeah, he got me," Virgil replied. "But it's not as bad as it looks, I'll survive."

He removed his sash and wrapped it around his leg as a makeshift bandaged, careful not make it so tight as to cut of the circulation. Then he climbed onto the balcony rails and leapt across to join his brothers who greeted him with a double hug.

"Oh, thank God," Gordon said. "I was so scared that we'd have to come back with a dustpan and brush to sweep up the pieces."

Virgil gave the aqua naught a small smile, "Thanks the vote of confidence."

"You're welcome."

"Come on guys," Alan urged. "Let's get out of here, we still have to find the next key."

"Ok, we're coming Alan," Gordon reassured his brother. " Gee, I hope Scott's having better luck than we are wherever he is."

………………………………**.....................................................................................**

Charlie looked at Scott with an expression of pleading fear. It was as naked and bare as a tree in winter."

"Let her go," Scott demanded.

'Lucy' dug her nails in a little deeper and Charlie cringed as her skin was pierced. A tiny trail of plasma ran down her neck and to her chest.

"Stop that!" Scott shouted.

'Lucy' paused and looked up her 'son', cruelly at him.

"I'll tell you what, I'll let her go after you apologise," she said.

Scott was confused. "Apologise? For what?"

"For what? For what! For making your brothers ignore me, for taking them away from me, that's what!" 'Lucy' shouted, shaking Charlie a little. "I want you to apologise for making me feel so useless!"

Scott opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again.

"Well?" 'Lucy' pressed, "I'm waiting."

"I'm sor…" Scott started to say, then stopped. In his head he suddenly got an image of John at four, being taught to ride his first two wheeler. He kept falling off and each time he would come to his big brother who would gladly patch him up. Then there was Virgil at approximately nine or ten. He was crying to Scott about a kid at school who was constantly harassing him. Scott comforted Virgil and then went to the school and gave a few angry words (among other things) to the bully who never touched Virgil again. Finally he got an image of Gordon and Alan aged five and four respectively, listening intently as Scott read them a bedtime story.

"No." Scott whispered quietly.

'Lucy' stared at him in astonishment. "What did you just say?" she hissed.

"I said no," Scott repeated. "Listen, I'm sorry that you're a bitter, twisted woman, who happens to _look_ like my mother, but nothing more. I will not, however, apologise for caring for my brothers. No way, over my dead body."

"Over your dead body, huh, Scott?" 'Lucy' snarled, "Well.." She tossed Charlie to one side who fell dazedly to the floor, and walked towards the pilot with her clenching hands outstretched, "_that _can be arranged."

………………….

_AN: Yey, another cliff hanger! Don't you just love 'em? Don't worry I promise I won't take as long as I did to update the next chapter. Apologies for any spelling or grammatical errors that I may have missed. _


End file.
